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Charles de Gondi
Charles, Marquis de Belle-Île '(French: Charles de Gondi; Italian: Carlo di Gondi; 22nd July 1569 - Present) was a Grandelumièrian nobleman, soldier, and courtier at the court of the late Emperor Charles IX & I de Grandelumière (R. ???? - 1601) and the court of Emperor François III & I de Grandelumière (R. 1601 - Present) and was heir apparent and firstborn male child of Albert de Gondi (1522 - Present), Duc de Retz and Claude-Catherine de Clermont-Tonnerre (1543 - Present). He and nine other siblings were considered the first generation of the French House of Gondi by their father gaining various titles in servitude to the Kings of France and later Emperors of Grandelumière, Henri II and Francis II, who was the first Emperor of Grandelumière; a Franco-Scottish union. Italian born and French raised, Charles de Gondi was known at the court of Charles IX & I as a conservative and ''illegitimately French figure, and extremely pious. One would say he was illegitimate not due to the circumstances of birth but by the circumstances of character. Charles appeared to be French in the way he dressed, in the way he walked, and even in the way he talked. The public opinion of the Italian culture brought about by the Italian Wars set in motion by Grandelumière between 1494 and 1559, seemed to only weaken him in many situations, this in all its shame, disgrace, and disgust would be the source of many of his own problems within the Grandelumièrian court. Moreover, Charles did find some comfort in his own ancestry, Catherine de' Medici subsequently played a role in his own attitude toward his family as his grandmother, the then Dame du Perron, Marie de Pierrevive was made Gouvernante des Enfants Royale de France, with this position, Marie de Pierrevive was given the right-and-responsibility too educate the future sovereign that would be Francis II, Roi de France and in later years his mother, Claude-Catherine de Clermont-Tonnerre would also become Gouvernante des Enfants Imperiale de Grandelumière. Concluding his heritage, the Marquis de Belle-Île was subsequently extremely pious, a conservative sticker for etiquette, and acted as one of the main leaders of the Politique faction. His upbringing during the French Wars of Religion caused for a strict education set in motion by his father, Albert de Gondi, Duc de Retz who was subsequently present on the night before the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in council. Viewed as magnanimous, humble, and a devoted member of the Catholic Church, Charles was not all good as he was seen. Biography '''House of Gondi in Italy Before the twelfth and thirteenth century the Italian branch of the House of Gondi traced their lineage back to the glorified Florentine warrior Braccio Filippi who was said to have been enobled by the Carolingian Emperor, Charlemagne. Unlike the great House of Medici, whom were started poor and grew too be significantly richer and widely known throughout the Italian peninsula, the House of Gondi were considered more ancient, as their blood was of the old Florentine nobility which gave them great power within Florence itself for centuries. It was even noted that they were even financial parters with the Medici and many of the House of Gondi sat on the Great Council of Florence. In the twelfth century, the House of Gondi would receive their own patronymic from a Gondo Gondi in 1197 and would emerge into history thereafter where he participated as a signatory in the signing of a peace treaty between Genoa and Florence in 1251. In the fourteenth century, seven members of the House of Gondi held positions within the Great Council of Florence and in 1351, Simone de Gondi loaned the Republic of Florence 8,000 florins in a time of financial trouble. As their finances grew, their connections grew. They had obtained connections internationally, not only within the Republic and City of Florence but in various major cities such as Lisbon, Seville, Lyons, Warsaw, and even the jewel of the east- Constantinople. By the XVI and XVII centuries the House of Gondi made their way to France with various members, most notably, Reine-Consort, Catherine de' Medici, where they subsequently thrived for a time under the reigns of the Kings of France (later the Emperors of Grandelumière, Kings of France, and of Scotland) and even their respective consorts. Birth Charles de Gondi was born at the Palazzo Gondi (French: Palais Gondi), Florence, Italy, on the evening of the 22nd July 1569. He was the first child of born to the Duc de Retz, Alberto Gondi (French: Albert de Gondi) and Claude-Catherine de Clermont-Tonnerre. Charles' father, Albert, was the first Duc de Retz, given his own titles and lands as gratitude for his support in the French Wars of Religion. Charles' mother, Catherine, was the only child of Claude de Clermont-Tonnerre and Jeanne de Vivonne. The Palazzo Gondi, where he was born, was located a block from the Piazza della Signora, the point of origin that dates back to the founding of the Republic of Florence. It was built in 1490 by architect Giuliano da Sangallo whom took inspirations from the Palazzo Medici and the Palazzo Strozzi, which were both located in Florence. Childhood WIP Education WIP Engagement & Marriage WIP The French Wars of Religion In 1601, as Charles' father, Albert de Gondi, Duc de Retz, grew old and weaker as the time went on, Charles found himself in an intense position to be one of the leaders of the fragile Politique faction. The Polituque goal was too eventually empower the monarch over the Three Estates of Grandelumière. In these estates were the three classes of the Empire: the Clergy (The First Estates), the Nobility (the Second Estates), and everyone else (The Third Estates). Their opposition was the Malcontents, an old fashion factions that comprised of the old French aristocracy who cringed to Feudal rights and a decentralized state where the Emperor held little power and was under the power and watch of the Three Estates which would achieve synthesis of the Monarchy the Aristocracy, and Democracy. To the view of Charles de Gondi, he believed that no one had the right to question the monarch and the throne they sat on and what they did with their power as it derived from God. Traditionally, they did not submit to the Pope either, which also caused for a similar opposition with the great and powerful Catholic League which was simply called 'the Guise' by most. As the war waged on in France, the Crown took an official stance of neutrality, causing for the various factions to grow in size and opportunities to expand their own influence without the Crown's interference. The neutrality, in Charles' eyes caused for the League to expand their own extremist ideals of ultra-piety with little to no tolerance at all for the Calvinist population of Grandelumière and disregard for the sovereign. This was obvious as in Paris, upon the day of the funeral of the late Emperor of Grandelumière, Charles IX & I, the Duc de Guise and Cardinal de Guise threatened the Emperor with the staunch Catholic populations of Paris would turn against him, causing for the Emperor's allowance of the scene, the Comte de Roucy being lynched and then his own head being thrown infront of the Emperor's feet and then the Duc de Bouillon's conversion. In disregard of the tolerance that was supposed to be upheld, the Marquis did not believe nor like the Duc de Bouillon. In retaliation for Bouillon's support for Roucy's disrespect of the Eucharist, the Marquis de Belle-Ile and the Duc de Joyeuse, son of Anne de Joyeuse, longtime mignon and court favourite to Charles IX & I, summoned the Politique's. They agreed on a solution for the Duc de Bouillon, at the behest of the Marquis, to have him 'reminded' of his place. The Duc de Joyeuse had a blood-oath taken and Belle-Ile proudly yet stupidly gave in to the Pagan ceremony and thereafter on January the 21st of 1601, the Duc de Bouillon was savagely beat in the gardens of the Chateau-Neuf de Saint-German-en-Laye. Without the knowledge of the Marquis de Belle-Ile, the Duc de Joyeuse framed the Catholic League for the incident and after such it was quite obvious the Guise would retaliate. The beating itself was a scandal and the framing of the Catholic League even more. Once again, the Duc de Joyeuse and the Marquis were at a breaking point, in a last minute attempt to save themselves and the faction against the reckless behavior of the Marquis' sister, Claude, Marquise de Pienne and his own wife, Antoinette d'Orleans-Longueville, an alliance was made with the main Huguenot leader, the Comte de La Rochefoucauld. The alliance itself, was unexpected, the Marquis not even at good odds with the man was rather eager to set aside the differences, which the Comte readily accepted against that of the League. In this, Belle-Ile suggested to lift the Siege on La Rochelle, the men agreed, and forces were raised from the Gondi, Joyeuse, and Rochefoucauld estates to rally at the city of Niort to then march on La Rochelle and stop the League. At the same time as orders were drafted the court had found out about the numerous faults that the Marquis had participated in alongside the Duc de Joyeuse. He was charged with several crimes, included that of conspiracy, slander, defamation, and paganism. These charged caused for who he thought was his friend, the Spanish, red-haired, Isabelle d'Autriche, Impératrice-Douairière de Grandelumière, who was metaphorically, the power behind the throne, to have Belle-Ile and Joyeuse placed under house arrest until trial. In addition, the Marquis' wife, Antoinette, would intend to file for separation on the grounds of insanity and heresy. With this, the Politiques were left without two of it's main leaders, leaving the Huguenot majority, lead by the Rochefoucauld Comte to lead it. With these circumstances, the League quickly would descend upon the Politique and Huguenot factions like a plague. Forces from Joinville, Lorraine, Elbeuf, Paris, Reims, Rouen, and 5,000 soldiers from Philip III of Spain would be raised to meet and bolster League forces around La Rochelle and to conduct a revenge campaign against the Politique and Huguenots. Surely, one would speculate this was the end of the Politique's, but was it really? In all honestly, the Politiques could not be ended, however, they could be severely weakened. The Governor of Brittany, the Duc de Mercoeur, a Guise himself, would raise Breton levies to repel any incursions of the Huguenot-Breton Lords as they themselves were to be put to the sword at the direction of the Duc de Guise. In due time, Brittany would become a battlefield, and a battlefield it was, the Battle of Rennes occurred with a 2,300 man army that was assisted by prominent Breton families such as the Maison de Rohan. The Huguenots were outnumbered by the League, with an estimated 5,000 men. Obviously, the Huguenots-Politique men were crushed at Rennes, sending 800 men back to a mere 4,000 English troops. Despite this loss, with help from the English--mocked as the red-haired harlot by the Marquis--Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England--seven English vessels arrived on the scene of La Rochelle, decimating the Spanish as they sunk two converted merchant ships, sending the remaining three back to Spain. While the Politiques, backers for the empowerment of the sovereign, indulged into their own wars with the help of the Huguenots against the League, the Emperor, while his coronation took place, made his own advances against the neutrality displayed by the Crown. François III & I moved a regiment, more specifically, the Régiment Impérial de Flandres, that was originally destined for the Cher Valley, marched on the Huguenot-held city of Orléans. These actions had been the first move of possibly many more to come, as the Crown had successfully driven the Groslot family out of the city for good, consolidating it's own power, as it help one of the most important cities in the Empire. Ancestry =